BADASSES

BAng's Deadly Assassin Strike Squad and Elven Scouts

Dropping in on the Giants
Having been equipped and sent on their way by the dwarves, the party trekked into the snowy peaks deep in the Stonemarch mountains in search of the frost giants whom they believed had the great wolf pelt. Suddenly, the frosty ground gave way and the party found themselves dumped right into the main audience chamber of the frost giant king Ymir and his host. There, they met Ralshash and Sorchynna, who were looking for the same pelt, but for the Corellon temple museum. Amused, the giants challenged the party to contests of wit and skill – Ralshash held his own drinking from a giant flagon, Wyleal and Eidolon told a rousing story of a fiery dragon, and Lycia nimbly took a silver goblet from the back of the storehouse without waking the giant guardian hound. After proving their worth, king Ymir was willing to part with the pelt if they would slay his mad brother Heckler, a murderous frost giant whom they banished to the clouds to make thunder and lightning his home. The giants provided magical stones that would take them to the clouds, and crystal vials with which they could bottle up the lightning.

The ensuing battle saw swirling clouds, claps of lightning, and the occasional hero tossed a long way to the ground. But in the end they prevailed, defeating the giant and winning the favor of Ymir. He gave them the pelt and the party went on their way back to Cormynthor forest to restore the pelt to its proper place on the sacred mound.

Forest Fire
Emerging from the mountains, our motley crew of humans, elves, and half breeds saw flames in the forest in several places and knew something was terribly amiss. Flames could even be seen in the impregnable city of Myth Drannor. The great magical wards of the Mythal were down and the drow had launched a full on invasion. And the drow army had made their headquarters right at the sacred mound!The Great Wolf Returns
The party wasted no time gathering Melka and his surviving warriors to help them make a charge for the enemy camp. Our heroes defeated the drow priestess who led the army, casting her from the mound and placing the sacred wolf pelt in its place. Then, a strange thing happened. The spirit of the Great Wolf was roused, and he set upon the drow invaders. The drow army panicked, fleeing this way and that in chaos. But Wyleal and Eidolon, able to see into the world of nature spirits, could see the vast majestic wolf tearing into the drow army and scattering them.

Initiation
The assassins, having proven themselves, were invited by Rickers to full initiation into the Brotherhood. This involved a magical trip to the Plane of Shadow, another realm of existence like the material world; but dark, twisted, and full of gloom. It is here where the dead go to be sent to their final resting place, and the Queen of Death, the Raven Queen, holds her court. The party travelled to Gloomwrought, and at the Raven Queen’s temple the assassins pledged their service to the Brotherhood and to follow its creed:
-Stay your blade from the flesh of the innocent
-Be unseen so that your deeds may be done in secret
-Never compromise the Brotherhood
After initiation, Rickers gave them title to a manor house in the city of Neverwinter, and explained they had a serving staff their disposal.Party at Rickers
After the initiation, our heroes were invited to a celebration at Rickers’ home. Among the guests were some unsavory characters. Besides the occasional vampire and wight, the demon imp Zeebleck was there and spent some time with Phaedreon. Also the party saw their hated enemy, a Drow. Rickers introduced them to Mortus, a male drow who was a spy working for Rickers against his own people. Mortus told them about Valeris, a powerful Eladrin wizard living in the shadowfel that had collaborated with the Venom Queen in the creation of the magic flowers that had threatened Myth Drannor. Rickers asked the party to destroy his workshop, and the perfect opportunity to gain entry to his manor was an upcoming auction. Rickers also provided Lycia with a poison, deadly to Eladrin, to use on Vickers.

An Auction
The party had to find a way to gain entry to the auction. They couldn’t persuade the auctioneer but ultimately they met a human merchant, Thatch, that took a liking to (was it Lycia or Eidolon?). After meeting Thatch for dinner at the Githzerai Galley, a fine restaurant renowned across the planes, she convinced Thatch to pay for her ticket and her “servants” to attend the auction.

The Highest Bidders
The party took their places at the auction while Lycia snuck her way upstairs to the wizard’s workshop. Dealing with a wicked lock and a shadowy serpent guardian, the party gained entrance to the room. Lycia also slipped the poison into Valeris drink. Among the items auctioned was a silver trumpet and a glowing gem that looked familiar to Phaedrean. Later in the auction however, attackers came charging through the windows. They had some kind of magical ‘grenade’ that penetrated the manor’s powerful wards. In the commotion that followed, the attackers tried to steal the silver trumpet but were defeated by the combined efforts of the party, Valeris the wizard, and his golem bodyguard. Valeris later died from the poison, the party wrecked his workshop, and left the scene.

Where Orcs fear to tread
Having completed their initiation and their mission, the party returned to the material plane. Eager to recover the pelt of the Great Wolf, Eidolon urged the party to track down the Blackfoot Orcs who were rumored to have it. The party journeyed through the Stonemarch mountains, and eventually caught up with the Blackfoot. They had a large camp. The party waited until nightfall to infiltrate. They snuck into the chiefton’s tent but the pelt was not there. Later they interrogated an orc scouting party and learned that the chiefton gave it in tribute to the frost giant king, Ymir. This matched Eidolon’s vision where she saw the orc chiefton in fear deliver the pelt to someone just out of her sight.

The Hospitality of the Dwarves
The party set out deeper into the Stonemarch mountains, climbing up into the snowy peaks. They met up with a tribe of Dwarves who were not at all displeased to here of their intentions to confront the frost giants. The dwarves provided them with warm furs and a magical belt before sending them on their way. The party headed deeper into the mountains in search of the frost giants, guided by Wyleal’s keen trackers eye.

The party continued through the vast maze-like city of the Aboliths and found the control room, where mind-controlled Fey slaves were bound up and singing in the eerie sonic choir of the Aboliths for unknown mad purposes. They fought off the slimy sea creatures while deciphering and sabotaging the control system, sending the entire structure plummeting in the depths. They rescued the Fey creatures and brought them back to the forest and met again with the spirit clan, who transformed the party back to their normal air breathing selves.

From the human ranger Brannon, now revealed as a bear shape shifter, they learned that the Great Wolf, a nature spirit, protects and watches over the Cormanthyr forest. However, they have not been able to commune with this spirit ever since the sacred wolf pelt was stolen from the sacred mound. They don’t know what happened to the pelt although there is a rumor that the Blackfoot Orc tribe took it.

Back at Myth Drannor

The elves found a Dryad named Fladrif, who had planted the white flowers in the city that would have enabled the summoned demon to enter. Outraged, High Priestess Selanan had Fladrif thrown in the dungeon. The party learned that Fladrif had been a captive of the Drow deep in the underdark for over a hundred years. She was sent to perform this mission on threat to her saplings which are still held by the Drow. She indicated the Drow had other Fey prisoners, and in fact had trade with the Aboliths over Fey slaves that they enslave and corrupt. Fladrif also revealed that the Drow house Horric, under Matron Harrah, is sworn to the destruction of Myth Drannor and has been behind all the attacks against the elves for decades.

Racial Tensions

The party also learned that tensions between the humans and elves were at an all time high. Humans had been increasingly encroaching in the elven forest, goaded on by the Church of Erathis, and their teachings about building cities and subjugating nature to the needs of civilization. The party went to Fallcrest and learned a wealthy merchant, Puffus, was backing the church. He traveled in a large magical airship, brimming with powerful magical armaments. The party ultimately confronted and defeated Puffus, and learned that he was a Drow in disguise. The Erathis Priest Darren, marked by Rickers as a target, was defeated by the party assassins. Phaedrean completed an errand of his own involving a bright glowing jem. The party restored peace and order to the town, much to the delight of the Mayor. Finally, the party discovered Puffus and Church Erathis had plans to attack Myth Drannor once the magical shield, the Mythal, was down in a few days…

Seeing how Myth Drannor had already been infiltrated by the Dryad and fearing a plot to take down the Mythal, the party warned Myth Drannor and their own Surefoot tribe. Melka and his hand-picked Surefoot warriors went to Myth Drannor to help secure the Mythal against whatever treachy may be lurking among the high elves.

Now it seems there is unfinished business involving Drow House Horric, the Mythal, the pelt, and something about promises made by Rickers to the assassins if they completed their mission against Priest Darren. What is to be done? And what are the purposes of power players like Rickers, Selenon, and Prince Telendril in all this?

The party fought their way through more of Alarel’s henchmen, including priests, fanatical berserkers, and vampirous minions. Lowering themselves through a pit by blood-drenched chains, they found their way into the main temple where Alarel was summoning the demon Nezul through a large archway. Alarel and his skeletal minions put the party through a desparate fight. They were constantly harried by re-animating skeletons and shadowy tentacles from the emerging demon that knocked them about and threatened to drag them into the void. Finally, the party brought down Alarel, destroyed the summoning tome, and the demon faded back into the void.

The temple chamber had more of the white flowers, and the party sent Silva through the portal to bring news to the Elves about all that had transpired, and to find out where the leak was on the other side that allowed these flowers to be placed in a courtyard garden in Myth Drannor. The party then made their way on foot out of the mountains, and into western Cormanthor forest back towards their tribal home and Myth Drannor. On the way they saw a large brown bear, and soon Brannon the human ranger came to them. Eidolon and Wyleal were told about a secret tribal community of nature spiritists that included Brannon and even Melka from the Surefoot tribe. They were offered membership and greater knowledge and communion with the spirits of nature, if they would complete a quest. They were to return to lake Wintermist, site of the strange choir sounds. There deep beneath the waters they were told the Aboliths were at work, great horrid sea monsters that were kidnapping fey creatures for unimaginable purposes. They were to rescue the fey. That night the elves participated in a tribal ritual with their new secret kindred. They beheld Brannon transform into a bear and Melka a wolf. The next morning they did not remember all the chanting, dancing, consumption of herbs, pipe smoking, and visions that came to them. But the whole party had been transformed with gills and webbed extremities, magically equipped by the spirits of nature to deal with the unnatural threats of the deep.

The party swam deep into the lake, journeying miles below the surface before finding a strange sunken temple. Inside the twisted passageways, they found strange extra-dimensional geometries, wierd symbols on the walls, and coatings of slime and mucous everywhere. They encountered an imprisoned mind flayer, who offered to fortify their minds against the aboliths in exchange for freedom. They released the mind flayer and received a strange blessing of their minds before he went on his way. Continuing through the strange passages, they found a ceremonial room where a poor nymph was about to be sacrificed by aquatic allies of the aboliths. They fought against vicious sharks, strange fish-people, and entangling seaweed before they defeated the monsters. The frightened nymph was disfigured, her bottom half turned into a dreadful squidlike thing. What other ghoulish discoveries would the party make before their undersea quest was done?

Journeying through the strange submerged temple

The party has yet to encounter the nightmarish Aboliths, masters of the deep.

The party journeyed into the Stonemarch mountains, looking for the site of Phaedrian’s old tribe were they learned Alarel had constructed an underground temple and was summoning a powerful demon, Nezul. The tribe was located at a confluence of ley lines, making it an ideal spot for powerful magic rituals. Rickers feared the demon would be set upon Myth Drannor and let in via the flowery portals. The party ran across Zeeblek the imp in the mountains, and he offered to show them the way to Alarel if they would do a task for him in exchange. Zeeblek wants a glowing gem that is currently set in the wall in the temple of Palor in Fallcrest, and claimed it was stolen from him. Phaedrian agreed to take this quest while the others were wary. Zeeblek led the party on through the mountains, and eventually they met a small camp of humans. They were escaped slaves, in fact they were led by the slave that the party freed from the assassins. They were gathering escaped slaves together and had formed a band that met at the Unicorn Inn in Winterhaven. One of the slaves had escaped from Alarel’s dungeon, and told them of drow, and darker things, and of Alarel’s evil ritual work.

Finally Zeeblek led the party to the empty site of Phaedrian’s old tribe. They found a dark cave, and solved a riddle that gave them passage through the dark steel door marked in drow language. They fought their way past drow guards, then had a harrowing experience in a room full of traps – a massive mechanical statue that swung a great sword, fire breathing dragon statues, and an alcove with arcane walls that nearly drowned Phaedrian in a deluge of water. The party worked together to defeat and disable the traps. Gathering their wits about them, they proceeded onwards through dark dungeon, hoping they would not be too late to stop Alarel’s infernal scheme…

Showdown!
Our brave heroes fought their way through a twisted garden and into the Venom Queen’s lair. Working as a team, they quickly dispatched 5 serpentine guardians,leapt over pools of acid, and dodged entangling vines to bring the malicious fey to surrender. And while cooler heads wanted to question her, the impetuous barbarian rushed forward, narrowly dodged a tackle from lycia, and piled over her toxic worktable in a fury of vengeance. The battle reignited and Phaedrean made the killing shot. The party found significant loot, several magic items, rare poisons, recipes and notes on various herbs, and most disturbingly, gold bearing the chilling mark of the drow queen of spiders.

Poachers!
The party made haste to report back to the Surefoot tribe to report all they learned. On the way through the forest they meet poachers that had hunted a sacred magical fey deer. They claimed to be farmers and to have a right to hunt in the forest, but clearly new what they were after and were members of the Church of Erathis, a pro-civilization and ‘progress’ group. They took them prisoner and brought them to the tribe for judgment. Melka gave the father the judgment of seven arrows and the son lost a hand and was sent back as an example. Melka and the tribe confirmed that human encroachment on the forest had increased recently, and the Church of Erathis seemed to be a motivating factor, if not outright behind it.

The council of Elrond, I mean, Telindril
The discovery of drow gold in the Venom Queen’s coffers was deeply alarming. Leanna sent the party along with Sylva to Myth Drannor, the splendid city of the high elves located North of the Surefoot tribe, deeper in the Cormanthor forest. There they met Prince Telendril, heir to the high elven kingdom, and Selanan Brightstar, the high priestess of Corellon for Myth Drannor. The group also included Brannon the human ranger, and Rickers – an unimposing yet charming and mysterious human. The party learned an important secret, that Myth Drannor sits upon a powerful magical confluence, a place where leigh lines meet and a powerful wellspring of magic. Myth Drannor and the surrounding elven woods are protected by a Mythal, an ancient magical artifact of great power, fashioned by elven high mages long ago. The Mythal among other things creates a barrier against goblins, orcs, drow, and other evil creatures. Humans, dwarves, and other civilized races may enter freely.

The elven mages and scholars so far have not been able to find a way to counter or even detect the magical effect of the innocuous white lilies that had allowed the jackals a means to enter the warded forest. The magic is deeply intertwined with the life essence of the plant and is masked by it.

They fear the drow may now have a means of launching an assault upon the elves, if they can just manage to get these flowers into the forest again, or into the city. Already Lady Moonfire had been tricked into giving these flowers to the elves, and with humans pioneers straying into elven lands guarding the borders has become all the more challenging. They recalled an assault decades ago, where the drow had found a way in and had launched devastating raids. Though rarely spoken of, the surefoot tribe had its share of destruction at the hands of the drow and Melka had been sorely pressed to save the tribe.

Selanan recognized Phaedreon’s tribal lineage and had some scraps of information about his tribe and their demise at the hands of the drow. She new his tribe had been located somewhere in the Stonemarch Mountains but the exact location was unknown.

The party was asked to search for drow involvement. Two potential leads mentioned in the investigation were Zeeblek the Imp and the Church of Erathis in Fallcrest. The elves would continue to study the flowers and look to their defenses, guard their borders, and make their own investigations.

Prince Telendril

Selanan Brightstar, High Priestess of Correlon

Slumber Party at Rickers’ Place
After the meeting, the party did some shopping and bought potions, weapons, and other equipment. They had dinner with Brannon and Rickers, and later that evening stayed at Ricker’s apartment in Myth Drannor. Rickers had additional news he did not wish to share with the high elves. He explained to the party in prviate that there was another confluence of leigh lines in the Stonemarch Mountains. He didn’t know exactly where it was but he believed that the drow leader Aralel had destroyed Phaedrean’s tribe decades ago because of its location at this confluence, and he warned that Aralel was about to succeed in summoning a powerful demon from the Shadowfel into the material world. Rickers asked the party to deal with this threat first and dodged any real explanation as to why not to involve the elves, other than that they would be busy enough dealing with the other drow threat.

Rickers – the wealthy, charming, and sly man of mystery

Later that night, the wood elves had strange dreams and the assassins were sneaking about at midnight. Before Lycia and Phaedrean’s eyes, Rickers emerged in a cloud of shadow and explained to them that he was their contact and handler within the Brotherhood of Assassins, a secretive organization to which they both belonged, unbeknownst to the other. Rickers told them if they defeated Aralel and stopped his demon they would both be initiated fully into the brotherhood and have access to new power as well as powerful allies. Rickers also gave them a new target for elimination.

To the Mountains, in search of Drow and Demons
The next morning the party set out for the Stone March mountain, searching for the location of Phasedrean’s lost tribe and Alarel’s evil summoning ritual. On the way, Wyleal found strange tracks leading to a lake near the mountains. At the lake they heard a strange choir emanating from the waters. And reaching out with his intuition for nature and connection to natural spirits, Wyleal had a sense that the lake was unusually deep. Very deep.

The party hurries from Fallcrest to the Stonemarch Mountains, looking for the Dragon Teeth Peaks where they expect to find the home of Thorim’s father that was taken over by Jackals. At the edge of the mountains, they spend the night in Winterhaven, a rough mountain town with a significant dwarven population. There Wylael meets Brannon, a fellow ranger who seems to know something of the ancestral spirit world as Wylael does. The party spends an otherwise uneventful evening in the tavern. Eidolon discovers a small bag of jems in her room that evening.

The next morning they set out in the mountains and narrowly avoid a large and frightening ogre. Later they encounter a little imp devil named Zeeblek. Warily the party avoids dealing with him despite his boasts of knowing all that goes on in the mountains, and having information to provide those who work with him and curses to visit on those who defy him. Zeeblek taunts that his master Nezul is soon to come into the world.
Later that day the party locates the dwarven home and finds it guarded by the Jackals and their goblin slaves. With stealth, cunning, and deadly accuracy they dispatch with the intruders, tossing some jackals off ledges and over bridges into the water below. Afterwards, they find a secret door, containing the old dwarven man’s sizable stash of treasure, a tiny dryad trapped in a jar (!), and a strange, red-glowing rune carved into a stone. They also find this letter:

“There was nothing I could do, my children were growing increasingly sick and nothing could heal them. Kord did not hear my prayers. I sensed the growing presence of shadow over the last few months, and the imp showed me it was the growing presence of Nezul, soon to come into the world. I took the talisman of protection he offered me. My children were healed but it has been a curse to me ever since. I fear what will happen to me if Nezul comes as the imp says, for now I have been marked by the demon. I am ashamed to tell my family or anyone about it.”

After leaving the dwarven home empty, the party wastes no time in seeking the fabled lair of the Venom Queen, which by legend disappears and reappears in a new location at dusk each day. Guided by the trusty direction-finding toad they took from the evil assassins they had slain, they head east, out of the mountains, past lake wintermist, and into the nearby forest (not far from Cormanthor the elven home). Soon, right before their eyes, a large stone pavilion materializes before their eyes. It is covered in vines and ivy and there is a single entrance. They party boldy enters, despite a magical warning voice. A whirlwind of magically animated blades opposes their entrance, but they defeat the blades and make their way in. Soon, they find themselves in a maze of tight hedges, full of bizarre and deadly plants, and nasty creatures that lash out as they try to make their way through the maze. They hear the taunts and laughter of the venom queen resonate around them as they push onward…

Adventure 2

The party makes their way back to Fallcrest, hoping to find clues about the strange lycan raiders. Their mission is urgent, as they hope to still rescue the one elf that was taken captive by the lycans. Lycia visits the home of Salty the Dwarf, a fiesty old stonemason who offers her stone-hard bread and cigar smoke. He tells of another dwarf, Thorim, who was recently wounded by jackals and is recovering at the local church of Pelor.

Phaedreon also visits the church of Pelor, and meets Lucious the Priest and his servant Anna. Sensing Phaedreon’s dark nature, the priest is eager to tell Phaedreon about the light of Pelor. They show him to Thorim, who’s wounds are being tended to. Thorim tells how jackal’s raided his mountain home and killed his father, taking his small mountain dwelling up as their own. He tells Phaedreon the location of his home – a cave in the middle of three dragontooth peaks in the stonemarch mountains. He is eager for revenge and welcomes any assistance in dispensing with the jackals.

The party visits the mansion of Lady Moonfire to see what she might know. They learn she had been dealing in herbs with an elderly lady who visits the town from time to time with her wares. Lady Moonfire sought the favor of the elves with a gift, and the old lady told her the elves would love her white orchids. She purchased and gifted these to the elves, who graciously accepted them and planted them in their garden, the same garden the jackals had vanished from after their attack. Sensing trouble and inquiring further, Lady Moonfire revealed she also purchased wine spices from the old lady, which she was planning to serve in a wine festival for the whole town. Wyleal insisted on inspecting the spices, and sure enough, he identified them as a deadly poison. The party convinced Lady Moonfire grudgingly to part with the spices, over the butler’s objections, and saved the town from a likely disaster. Sure now that the white orchids the old lady tricked Moonfire into providing the elves had something to do with the Jackal’s ability to infiltrate the forest, Wyleal s sends a warning through the primordial spirits in hopes that they will reach another attuned elder of the tribe, before another attack comes.

The party learns more rumors from the town – that the old lady who sells herbs is not what she seems. That there is a witch who’s dwelling drifts in the ether. Her lair only appears at twilight, and its location on any given evening can only be determined by vile creatures like snakes and toads. They also learn that lycans are vulnerable to silver, and that the wizards speak of a confluence of ley lines running through the Nentir Vale.

Back at the inn, the party encounters a group of 3 dangerous looking travelers from a distant land, accompanied by a harried and frightened servant. While the mysterious travelers sleep at the inn, they leave their servant out with the animals. Eidolon speaks with him and learns about his plight, and promises to free him. Each of the party has their own ‘hunch’ about the evil associated with this group, and they decide for better of for worse, to finish them off in the night as they sleep. The elves rush their doors while the assassins sneak in their windows to do their dirty work. Lycia sneaks upon and kills their leader in one deadly strike, then the party decends on the remaining two in the next room. The ensuing battle has combatants leaping in and out of windows, scaling walls, and running along the roof of the inn. As the last surviving enemy assassin is about to leap to the next rooftop to flee for safety, Eidolon, lacking a ranged weapon, plucks a shingle from the roof and flings it into the back of his head, finishing him off instantly. He plummets to the ground below. Among the treasure the party find a shopping list of poisons, and a metal case that their leader was jealously guarding. It contains… a toad.

The poor slave is freed, and the party prepares themself next morning to set off to Thorim’s father’s home in the Stonemarch Mountains, where the jackals have taken up residence and are known to have at least 1 elf captive.

Adventure 1

The elf barbarian barges abruptly into the lobby of the inn, eager to find a few certain guests and be on her way. Her traveling companion calmly walks in after her, scanning the unfamiliar indoor setting and welcoming a chance to rest after their two-day journey from the Cormanthor forest. He sets down his bow, shakes the leaves off his feat, and takes a seat at the bar.

A man at the bar looks up at them. He is a quiet half-elf with dark features, lightly armed and armored. He is friendly but there is something dark and brooding about him. Recognizing that these are the elves he’s looking for, they great each other.

Meanwhile the bartender offers everyone a drink, and goes about her work with a preternatural speed and grace unbecoming a common laborer. She too is awaiting the elves, but decides she wants to know more before revealing herself, and playfully vanishes from sight, eavesdropping on the conversation. She will join them soon enough, for she knows that the elven dominion in Cormanthor forest is an anchor to balance and stability in the region, and that her mysterious destiny at least at the moment is intertwined with theirs.

A matronly women walks into the lobby as well, butting into the conversation and eager to speak with the wood elves. When she learns the elves are escorting these townsfolk to a wood elf party, she all but begs for an invitation herself. She is Lady Moonfire, one of Fallcrest’s movers and shakers, and is fascinated with all things elven. She has heard of their celebrations, the unearthly beauty of the dancers, the hypnotic melodies of the flute, the luxurious draught from the moonwell, and visits by enchanted creatures of legend – satyrs, faeries, pixies, maybe even a unicorn? But only by invitation from the reclusive elves. She hints at favors if the travelers can secure an invitation to a future event, but the elves politely tell her they’ll see what they can do.

Before long, Eidolon the Barbarian, Wyleal the Elven Seeker, Phaedreon the Half-elf Assassin, and Lycia the human Assassin have become acquainted and settle down for the evening, ready to head to the Cormanthor forest the next morning. Phaedreon and Lycia both received personal invitations to the festival from Leanna, the leader of the Surefoot tribe of woodelves from which Eidolon and Wyleal hail. Each had done some small service to the elves, no doubt rescuing their envoys from bandits on the road or such, thus earning themselves this honor. But the main guest of honor at the festival is Eidolon, the young elf Bararian. It is her coming of age celebration, and she is eager to explore the world that lies beyond the tranquil forest home of her small tribe. And while she wanted to make the trip to Fallcrest and escort their visitors on her own, Leanna decided to send Wyleal also, an older and wiser elf, veteran of many travels and a keeper of the wilds the Surefoot tribe calls home.

The next morning the four travelers set out, heading north along the Nentir River to Cormanthor forest. While the journey is largely uneventful, they come across a haggard group of villagers, all heading west and looking for new refuge after their local well has recently become corrupted, bringing death to those who drink the water.

On the second day they enter the Cormanthor forest. Phaedreon’s hair tingles as his arcane senses detect that they have passed through a magical barrier. The forest is like something out of a fairy tale – with beautiful lush greenery and invigorating air. The travelers passage is eagerly noted by birds and small woodland creatures, and before long they realize they are being observed by elves from the tribe. They laugh and play pranks in the carefree manner of wood elves, even casting a sleep spell on some of the party members.

The travelers reach the simple, hidden dwellings of the wood elves, where a banquet is prepared on a large table, and the festival is beginning. Each is presented with a valuable gift, and Eidolon is presented with an enchanted, silvered weapon. The human and half-elf, the only outsiders, are introduced to other members of the tribe, including Sylva the priestess of Corellon, who makes a sober and scholarly contrast to the wild and carefree tribe leader Leanna. They also meet Melka, the chief hunter of the tribe, an elf of great strength and bravery but little skill with words, and Selene, an elf-child who is said to be a gifted seer.

Phaedreon strikes up a spirited conversation with Sylva, who teaches him more about the elven half of his heritage, and specifically about the ways of Corellon, god of magic and spring, beauty and the arts, and the chief deity among the elves and all fey. She tells him of the Eladrin – the high elves, of their libraries and temples, and their city Myth Drannor, located deeper still inside the Cormanthor forest. She offers to take him there someday, and Phaedreon has a sense Sylva would feel more at home with the noble and scholarly high elves than the simple and carefree wood elves.

The party carries on well into the night. Lycia enjoys playing with the elf child Selene, Wyleal compares notes on flaura and fauna with the rangers, and the Barbarian drinks her fellow warriors under the moon-well. Suddenly, there is trouble. Selene notices it first, going rigid into a shocked trance and crying out ‘murder!’ at the top of her elvish lungs. the warriors draw their weapons amongst growls, snarls, and cackles as a band of lycans – hideous jackals in vaguely humanoid form, descend upon the unsuspecting elves with fang and falchion.

The festival turns into a battleground. Elf and lycan alike fall, and our brave heroes defeat the red-pelted leader of the were-jackals and rescue several elves from their clutches. The raiding lycans retreat into the nearby elven garden, where they suddenly vanish. In the aftermath of the attack, alongside the grief, come many questions – how could the lycans have come here? The forest is guarded by the magic of the eladrin, and our keen-eyed scouts miss nothing. In the morning, Sylva leads an envoy to the eladrin, and the party sets off for Fallcrest, seeking answers.